From Alex Lippisch, Vice President Membership Chair for ASMP-Ohio North Coast

"Maria, It was a terrific pleasure to have you present to our group. Beginning with the plentiful articles, guidelines, email reminders, etc. it was clear you are a consummate professional presenter. Your pre-production worksheet was especially helpful in pulling all the details together. The information in your workshop was just as I had expected. We had students and seasoned professionals and there was something of value for everyone including very helpful marketing ideas that address the climate today. In addition, I especially enjoyed how you kept the tone engaging and humorous throughout all four hours. Thank you for a first class job! "

From Linda Trudeau, Trudeau Studios "Maria, Just a note to let you know I was in the audience Thursday night for PPGBA. Your presentation was terrific, timely, fun, lively and engaging ... lots of descriptives!! Sometimes I've almost felt jaded listening to whatever speaker and whatever presentation or class, conference and the like .... people who come in talkin' up their greatness and not really sharing ... NOT so with yours, really loved the whole thing. You gave all good useable information in today’s marketplace as we all look to find our spot. Thank you for your time and effort in the presentation, I look forward to making use of the updated information you've provided as I work with clients from this point on....Linda Trudeau, Trudeau Studios - Livermore"

From Jonathan, J.Orfanos Photography PPSV Program Chair

"Dear Maria, Thank you for your lively and informative presentation on Wednesday, October 21.  Usually photographers are reluctant to sit through a business oriented presentation, but the comments I have received have been enthusiastically positive.  More members enjoyed your workshop than any other business workshop we have had in the past.  Most agreed that your extensive knowledge of your subject matter and lively personality made for a thoroughly enjoyable evening.  Thank you again, it was a pleasure working with you and getting to know you."

From David Veal, Graphic Artists Guild Teleclass  

Thank you for a wonderful tele-class this year. You were great and the reviews from our attendees were extremely positive. Providing the simple outline that we were able to place on our Graphic Artists Guild letterhead helped everyone stay focused. The way you went through the material made sense and had a good pace for on an online workshop. I especially enjoyed the questions at the end of the tele-class from attendees around the country. We hope to have you present a new tele-class again next year. 

From Jeff Caven, ResortHotelPhotographer.com "As a former chapter president of ASMP/New Mexico I found lots of things to use in Maria Piscopo’s new program for ASMP/Seattle this year. I learned how to facilitate creating a marketing plan. I am about to release my web site version 2.0. I learned a lot of specific things from Maria’s program I plan on using in its design such as: use of text for SEO,  creating a more interesting website to get longer visits from potential clients and using forms in addition to email contact. Her program reaffirmed our commitment to simple, smart website navigation. I also got that kick- in- the pants to get my blog going. Maria’s workshop gave me the feedback that I needed to confirm I am on the right path by targeting a specific market. I unreservedly recommend you spend a day with Maria learning her strategies."

"Thank you for presenting Expanding Your Client Base as part of AIGA/La's Business Matters series. Your lively presentation was thoughtful, insightful and, in the words of one attendee: "...humanized the cold world of sales and client relationships."

In the words of another attendee, who actually drove all the way down from San Francisco specifically for the event: "The workshop itself gelled much of what we already knew as a micro-sized brand communications and design firm, but what Maria did was to bring immediate industry relevance to the tactics and shed light on pitfalls of traditional sales tactics as applied to the graphics design sales. Plus, Maria’s energy-driven, humorous presentation just made the workshop at the end of a long drive lively, engaging, and worthwhile." Couldn't have put it better ourselves. The sold-out audience left not only with a wealth of information about developing new business, but also with an entirely new way of looking at the process itself. We hope you will continue to be a part of AIGA/LA and Business Matters."